Carton for geraniums and the like



Oct. 16, 1962 L. J. BUDD CARTON FOR GERANIUMS AND THE LIKE 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 24, 1960 INVENTOR neef/M5000 BY 7/ WK @QQ- fATTO EYS L. J. BUDD 3,058,585

Oct. 16, 1962 CARTON FOR GERANIUMS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 24, 1960 2Sheets-Sheet 2 frgr if r i? y n f k if zo; if h J7 l .m is s 8 EIQA 111/ml" 1L@ m 3,058,585 CARTQN FOR GERANIUMS AND THE UKE Larry J. Budd,Chicago, 1li., assigner to Pallet Devices Inc., Des Plaines, lil., acorporation of illinois Filed Aug. 24, 1960, Ser. No. 51,739 1 Claim.(El. 20E-65) The present invention relates generally to a container andmore particularly to a container for the storage of articles, such asplants. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with a newcontainer for the storage of geraniums.

Many gardeners after the summer season is over, desire to preserve thegeraniums they have had in their gardens during the preceding growingseason. In the past, many gardeners have attempted to preserve theirgeraniums over the winter season by hanging them over the water pipesand the like in the basement of their homes. This system of storinggeraniums has not been satisfactory for the geraniums frequently fall tothe floor after the root structure has become dried out since thebalance of the geranium on the pipe is thereby upset. Also, where thegeraniums are stored on the water pipes, the geraniums are frequentlydried out in such a severe way that they do not come to life when theyare replanted the following growing season.

According to the present invention, a new type of container has beendeveloped for the storage of plants such as geraniums over a non-growingseason.

A very important object of the present invention is to provide aneconomical device for storing a plurality of geraniums over anon-growing season.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved system for storing geraniums and the like which system tends toprotect the geraniums from damage and from becoming dried out so thatthey will grow again upon being planted the following growing season.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a geraniumstorage device which is of a type that permit the geraniums to bereadily inserted and removed from the device comprising the container.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a low costcontainer for the storage of geraniums which may be economicallymanufactured on a large production basis.

According to the general features of the present invention there isprovided a container for storing a plurality of geraniums and the like.The container has fiberboard side panels and end closure flaps. The endclosure aps at each end of the container are engageable together toclose the ends of the container. Clips are retainingly attached to theside panels and each include a supporting clip extension projecting intothe interior of the container. A platform is provided for supporting thegeraniums and it has a peripheral dimension slightly smaller than aninternal transverse dimension of the container and which platform issupported in the container by said clip extensions. The platform has aseries of peripherally spaced notched platform areas extending inwardlyfrom the peripheral platform edge enabling the geraniums to be extendedlongitudinally of the platform and supported in the spaced notchedplatform areas on the platform.

Other objects and features of the present invention will more fullybecome apparent in view of the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanging drawings, illustrating a singleembodiment and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a carton for storing plants such asgeraniums;

States Patent FIGURE 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional View takensubstantially on the line II-ll looking in the direction of the arrows,as shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of a clip forsupporting a platform;

FIGURE 4 is a view of a plan view of a carton blank; and

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of a platform for disposition in the carton.

As shown on the drawings:

The reference numeral 10 in FIGURE l indicates generally a container forstoring plants and the like. The container may be made from any suitablematerials such as a paperboard or a cardboard material, and the like.The term iiberboard as herein used, constitutes a generic term ofreference and is intended to connote the entire class of materialscommonly used in the production of cartons including paper, and fibrousor iberboard materials.

In accordance with the present invention, a series of clips 11 aremounted on the container and a platform A12 is supported Within thecontainer on the clips. A series of geraniums 13 are mounted on theplatform and extend longitudinally of the platform so that portions ofthe geraniums are disposed on opposite sides of the platform with thegeraniums being supported by the platform within the container.

The container comprises a single sheet of material including side panelsy1li-'17, inclusive, and a side panel closure flap 18. It will be notedthat the side panels 14-1'7 and the side panel end closure flap areseparated from one another by a series of score lines Ztl-23, inclusive,and the side panels may be folded into rectangular form along thesescore lines. The side panel end closure flap 18 is secured by suitablemeans such as rivets 19 to the side panel 14 so that the side panels maybe secured together in a folded position.

Secured to the side panels vlei-17, inclusive, are a series of endclosure iiaps 24-31, inclusive. It will be noted each side panel has endclosure aps secured at its opposite ends. The end closure aps areseparated from the side panels by a series of score lines 24-39,inclusive, and the end closure flaps may be folded relative to the sidepanels along these score lines.

The end closure flaps each has a centrally located closure flap notchedarea and it will be noted that the closure ilap notched areas on the endclosure flaps are identified at 40-47, inclusive. Since the end closureflaps are all identical, a description of a pair of them will suliicefor the remainder. In this regard, it will be noted the end closure flap2.4 has a particularly shaped closure flared notched area 40 whichincludes an outer ilared or lead-in closure ap edge area 43 and a bottomslit portion 49. The other end closure flaps also have lead-in closureflap edge areas and notched portions. The end closure flaps 24 and 26are provided with flap portions 24a, 26a and 24b, 26b which are disposedon opposite sides of the closure ap notched areas 40 and 42. Now whenthe container is to be closed, the end closure flaps 24 and 26 areengaged together. This end may be attained by engaging the notched area40 with the notched area 42 in such a way that the flap portions 24a and2Gb are disposed in lapped relation and the flap portions 24h and 26aare disposed in lapped relations. In other words, the flap portions 24a,26a and *Z4-b, 26!) on each side of the flap notched areas are disposedin lapped relation with one another. The flap portion 24a on the flap 24may be disposed on top of the flap portion Zb on the confronting flap 26and another llap portion 24h is then disposed underneath the flapportion 26a on the confronting iiap Z6. Corresponding flap portions onthe end closure aps 25 and 27 may be engaged together in the same Way asthe zflap portions on the tiaps 24 and 26. The end closure flaps on theopposite end of the box are also adapted to be secured together in thesame Way as described above.

The berboard side panels have a series of side panel notched areas50-57, inclusive, with each side panel being .suitably provided with apair of side panel notched areas. 'The clips 111 are each provided witha looped portion 11a and an extension 11b. The looped portions 11a ofthe clips are adapted to be engaged through the side panel notched areas50i-S7 in snug engagement with the opposite faces of the side panels towhich it is being attached. The clip extension 11b is disposedinteriorly of the conltainer and extends generally at right angles tothe side panel on which it is carried. These clips provide the means forsuspending the platform 12 Within the container 10.

The platform has a series of platform notched areas 58-67, inclusive,which are disposed about its peripheral edge. The platform notched areaseach include a platform flared edge area such as indicated at 68 toenable the stem of a geranium to be readily guided into the lnotchdefined by the notched area S8. The platform notched area also eachinclude an enlarged notched portion such as is indicated at 69 to permitthe stems of the `geranium to be loosely carried on the platform so theywill be less susceptible to being damaged when the platform is loadedand unloaded relative to the container end, or when the loaded containeris being transported.

To aid in the loading and unloading of the platform relative to thecontainer, the container is provided with finger gripping meansillustrated in the form of a circular hole 70 disposed centrally of theplatform so the fingers may be directed through the platform. Byproviding central finger gripping means, the peripheral edge of theplatform may be disposed in closer proximity to the side panels so thatthe platform is less able to shift transversely of these side panelswhen the container is being moved. Also, the length of the extensionsmay be kept to a minimum where there is a relatively small space betweenthe side panels and the peripheral edge of the platform. The circularhole 70 provides an edge which may be readily grasped by the fingers ofa person who desires either to load the platform Within the container orremove the platform from the container.

The platform may be loaded in any suitable Way, but

preferably, the roots are disposed on a top side of the platform withthe foliage disposed on an underneath side of the platform. Since thecontainer defines a relatively air tight enclosure, the plant moisturemay be retained in the plants for longer periods since the plantmoisture evaporation rate may be retarded through the use of a containerof this type, thus increasing the chances of the plant surviving theperiod it is to be stored. The platform tends to divide the containerinto super-imposed upper and lower subchambers. By dividing thecontainer enclosure into subchambers and by disposing the roots in theupper subchamber, the roots may be better preserved for longer periods.

It Will be understood that modification and variations may be effectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention.

I claim as my invention:

In a parallel sided paper board geranium container for storing aplurality of geraniums therein including four side panels and endclosure flaps at opposite ends of the container, a parallel sidedpaperboard platform having four edges confronting the side panels,inwardly projecting supporting means on the side walls for hanging theplatform from the four side panels spaced from the end closure flaps atthe opposite ends of the container and with the platform supported onsaid inwardly projecting supporting means solely by gravity, and meansfor hang- Y ing a plurality of geraniums from said platform comprisingkeyhole-shaped notched areas extending inwardly from all four of saidfour edges with enlarged portions of the notched areas being spacedinnermost from the edges of the paperboard platform.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS409,118 Seaman Aug. 13, 1889 634,646 Knobeloch Oct. l0, 1899 760,886Lord May 24, 1904 1,287,1f11 Roth Dec. 10, 1918 1,470,688 Cleeland Oct.16, 1923 1,669,617 Kennedy May 15, 1928 1,965,215 Boeye July 3, 19342,721,632 Surpierre Oct. 25, 1955 2,845,212 Gerowin July 29, 19582,887,220 Hankus May 19, 1959

